the crows and I

Crows in Norway are not quite the same as crows in the US. We never think of crows as anything but black, but with the white and blue on the Norwegian crow, it is harder to think of them as a "murder of crows." Heckle here was teasing me while I had lunch today. He and Jeckle were feeling a little camera shy, but were apparently interested in something outside my kitchen.

playing chess

I can't play chess. I really suck at it. I'm also bad at running, catching people, and remembering where things are. I can't find my keys (singular while here, I have only one key), I can't find numbered cones on a tennis court quickly. But I can play logic games. Which is part of why my team won both the logic games today in friluftsliv. The other, possibly more important reason, is that my team didn't have as strong a language barrier. Israel and Argentina both speak really good english, and the two Italians were the ones that translate for the the third. And there was one of the Americans with me. The opposing team was three Americans, plus the Apostle, the third Italian, and Miss Spain. Other than the Americans, the english was a lot more shaky over there. I'm still proud like a five year old.

This helped when I sat in on a Norwegian literature lecture today. Eventually, I started to understand things, but we (St Olaf and I) were asked a question på norsk. I answered it, kind of, dispite not knowing what exactly was being asked. I think the question was What was America called during the Middle Ages (1000 to 1500), and I answered with a very doubtful Vinland. This was either the answer, or not too far off, because he did write Vinland on the board before saying something about Amerigo Vespucci. Still, I suspect I looked rather terrified through out the class. I did get better, and I even took some notes during the second half of the period, because (thank you Mike and Vikings class!) I am actually familiar with what the prof was saying about the sagas.

those are not hips, they are sculpted cement

I really don't think that "I'm Norwegian" is any excuse for a complete inability to club dance. Really, if you are going to drink that much, then go to a 'disco' then you should be able to friggin' groove. Or at least attempt to groove. So instead, the two times the americans have been out and drunk, we've danced with each other. Last night I danced with some asian guy a little older than I would have liked, but at least the guy could move.

So that complaint made, there were some coordinated Norwegians out yesterday. I was getting rather drunk with some more of my neighbors, but St Olaf was getting some pretty dancing with Wisco's norwegian dormmate. It was impressive, and I am slightly jealous.

first, find the americans

So this is Norway. Or rather, this is small town southern Norway. In the week that I have been here, it has been sunny, but it has also rained every day.

I live in a dorm doing a fairly good impression of a ski chalet.

I accidentally bought buttermilk (or something like it) instead of yogurt. I blame my confusion on jetlag, and Finland. Finland packages yogurt in cartons like cardboard quart milk cartons. Norway packages buttermilk and milk this way, but not yogurt. But I've actually come to enjoy the sourness with my morning müsli.

I am the ocean and this is erosion, or...

Sisyphus and the wall. In repayment for partially funding and outfitting my expedition, I get to scrape my parents' dining room walls down to the bare plaster. No wonder they have been complaining of sprained shoulders and sore hands. The work became tolerable when I fished my own bladeholder out of my toolbag, and I wonder why they have been scraping paint without a handle on their razorblades. But it is always fun rearranging coastlines of paint and destroying things.

New gear includes:

• external hard drive for storing laptop image
• awesome hiking boots for drenching in bog water
• a 70s hiking pack which rode around on my pop's motorcycle
• vintage REI down sleepsack from my mum's college days
• steel coffee press mug

Flaks!!!